Sports is a metaphor for life — when things look their bleakest, there is always hope. In the battle for Texas on the football field Saturday night, between Texas and Texas Tech, it all came crashing down with one hit.
Reality set in as Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs hit quarterback Patrick Mahomes with such force it changed the game and stopped the momentum the Red Raiders had. That hit continued Tech’s long season; Tech lost to Texas 34-13. There will be likely be no bowl game this year, and no winning season.
After the hit, Diggs stood over Mahomes as if to ask him “What’s my name?” Mahomes didn’t know his own name, leaving the game with a concussion in the second quarter.
Mahomes, a true freshman making his first start, played well before the injury — he was 13-for-21 with 109 yards in passing. His passes consisted of safe throws to his running backs, and short underneath throws to his wide receivers.
“(Mahomes) signed up to play football,” Diggs said. “Sometimes that happens.”
Photo by Blake Silverthorn
Texas coach Charlie Strong said once Vincent Testaverde came in, the defense had to adjust to more of a rushing attack.
“We knew it would turn into a run game and a screen game,” Strong said.
With Mahomes injured, Tech turned to walk-on freshman Testaverde, son of former Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde.
Testaverde energized the offense — leading them down the field on a nine-play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead 13-10, with 3:34 left in the first half.
Two plays sum up the Red Raiders season. On the ensuing kickoff, Tech’s kickoff team allowed Texas’ Roderick Bernard to return the ball 67 yards and set a 17-yard touchdown run by Johnathan Gray. Those two plays took 35 seconds off the clock. A hush fell over the stadium.
“Testaverde executed well and I’m proud of the way he handled himself,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “Obviously when you get to your third-string quarterback, the offense is going to get taken down a bit.”
Photo by Blake Silverthorn
Texas (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) played power football, rushing for 241 yards. Running back Malcolm Brown rushed for 122 yards and scored two touchdowns. This was Brown’s first 100-yard rushing game this season. Johnathan Gray rushed for 76 yards and scored a touchdown. John Harris caught five passes for 165 yards, as the Longhorns had 469 yards in total offense.
Once again, penalties continue to hamper Tech — they had six for 70 yards with a number of them stopping drives.
Tech (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) had 381 yards in total offense and was led in rushing by DeAndre Washington with 97 yards. Brad Marquez had six receptions for 55 yards, and Devin Lauderdale had six for 33 yards.
Testaverde is the ninth true freshman to start this season for Tech, giving them plenty of experience to build on for the future.
Attendance was 60,961, third largest crowd all-time, and the largest to witness a game against Texas. Tech’s Pete Robertson had his ninth sack on the season, which ties him for 10th all-time in Tech’s history for sacks in a single season.
Tech is idle this week, and plays Oklahoma on Nov. 15.
About J.T. Keith
